An internship provides students with very valuable job experience in the field of Spatial Planning, be it in public service, a non-governmental/ social organization, a planning office, a private company or an academic institution outside of the university. Internships intensivy the practical knowledge and broaden the students’ horizon beyond their academic education.
Internships as a component of the Bachelor programme
Module 21 of the Bachelor Course ‘Practical Experience in Spatial Planning’ integrates internships into the curriculum. The students have to either participate in a four-week excursion or a four-week internship. For acceptance of the internship a certificate with the following information is required: duration of the internship and the occupation. The experience acquired have to be presented in a seminar.
To strengthen their occupational competences and establish a personal network with possible future employers many students voluntarily participate in several longer internships.
Possibilities for Internships
There is a broad range of possibile internships places, such as local councils, environmental associations, business development agencies or private planning agencies. Internships at the regional level and beyond are or in research institutions also available. E.g. The ‚Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik’ (DIFU) in Berlin and the ‚Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung’ (BBR) in Bonn regularly offer the possibility to send in applications.
A common alternative for internships is the work as an assistant e.g. at one of the School’s Units, in research institutes like the ‚Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung NRW’ in Dortmund or for a private planning agency. So many students connect the necessity of earning money with the option to accumulate work-related experience.
Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning
German Institute of Urban Affairs
Finding Internships
Generally, students have to find a suitable internship on their own. With a certain amount of individual initiative every student is able to find an interesting internship.
The Centre for Student and Project Affairs (SPZ) supports and supports students in finding an internship.
Regularly, internship offers and vacancies for positions as an assistant are displayed at the Units’ board boards. The central notice board can be found in the ground floor of GB III opposite to room 113.
Internship Data File
The Centre for Student and Project Affairs (SPZ) collects offered internships and internship reports. They can be accessed by all students.
On the basis of this collection an internship data file is currently under development and which will be expanded in 2007/2008. It will be available for all students of the School of Spatial Planning in the Service Office of the Study and Project Centre. Because of data privacy it will not be released on this website.
If you did an internship, please submit a short report to the Centre for Student and Project Affairs. This allows the Centre to continuously expand the internship data file and the pool of experiences which is very valuable for following students.
A guideline for an internship report can be found on the German website.